Cushion tire



G. W. BELL.

cusHloN URE. APPLicATloN min Nov. a, 191s.

1 ,414,325. Y Patented Apr. 25, 1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

. 27 27 /23 23d Z6 2c J I Z5 /28 INVENTOR G. W. BELL.

cusHloN TIRE. APPLICATION FILED IIOV. 8| 1918.

manu-n G. W. BELL.

CUSHION TIRE. APlLlcATloN FIALED Nov. s, 191s'.

Patented Apr. v25, 1922.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

INVENTOR Geenen WILLIAM BELL, Or'ipn'rtornnrcnnnl y To all whom t may concern.:

Be it known that I, GEORGE WILLrxM BELL, a subject of the King of Great Britain, re-

siding at Detroit, l,in the county of l/Vayne.

and State of Michigan, haveinvented cer# tain newY and useful Improvementsv in Cushion Tires, .of which the following is ai specification, reference being had thereinito` the accompanying drawings. Y

In the construction` and use of cushion tires, :particularlyfon service vehicles, itis necessary, of course, that the treadfportion.

be -as'tough as possible to resist th'efrictional wear with thefroad surface, While at' thesame time it must be competent to trans'- mit the driving torque. vThe core of the tire rapidly compressedl asis a cushiontire when should be as' elastic as possible lto absorb vibration, andlprovisionshould -be ymade to' overcome .the vexcessive heating ythat occurs.

in the mass of elastic material thatl is as the vehicle on which-it is mounted'istraveling rapidly. Y It is ,alsov desirable that the `compression be so directed as to prevent any tendencyof the tire to roll sidewise on the rim, and it is also advisable and in fact necessarytoprovide means for eliminating any friction `between lthe interiorxbody of the tire and the outer` casing Vthereof if the tire be built up of parts, so thatthe ,softer yinteriorvwhich is readily -friable, does not become vrapidly disintegrated.

lThis invention relates .to a cushion tire wherein thevroad wear is taken by a suitable exterior .casing that-is of proper quahtyto Vtransmit the driving torque of the vehicle,

and whichmay be replaced when worn out= while the interior is formed of an elastic core of much softer material than thetread,

correspondingly more compressible,v with a:

' core by the rapid alternate compression and relaxation of the elastic core as the car is driven far under load, There are other features also which include the'means for reL in expanded positiongqand Y l 141g. 9 is a; view ln'detail of a ring ext par ENT #oi-ricr.,{l

CUSHION rinialf;

kapplicati@ ined November s. 'ieia'sp'fsperiai No. 261,590.5 Y

- taining'the parts position-land Yforfelimihating any .possibility oferosion' of the in-f terror from contact with the outer casing.'

Theinvention consists in the matters 'hereinafter setv forth, and more particularly* i pointed out inthe appended claims, III the drawings, f l

1 Figure 1 is la view '1n cross section through Fig. 2 isaview in*l crosssection showi a slight modicatlon fof thetire;

' lFig.- 3 is a view" in side-elevation,"parv tially broken awayand in'section,"showing the tire of Fig. 1; A

lFig. 4jis a viewfinside elevation'of the portion shown in Fig. 3 with the parts in" positionv ready fon the expansion of the filler after placingy thesame' in thecasing;

F 1g. 'is-.a view of a modification off the core receiving'peripheral face of the-filler;

Fig. -6v isa viewrin cross section of the'k tire-fitted with a .preferred form of core'and v basermg; i 5 v f Y Fig. 7 is a view in detail of a section of the latter ring, the view beingl a section takenV on line 7-f7`of 9;

Fig. Sis a viewpshowing such ringlocked panding block.

AReferringto the drawings, a felly lfcarries a rim 2 havingV one permanent flange 3 and an applied flange 4 held thereto by suitable bolts 5 or the like passing through the felly. On the periphery of the'rim 2 la driving boss indicatedby adotted line 30v in Fig.l 1 and at 30` in Fig. 3 is formedv to enter a corresponding ,recess` in an -annular vbase ring 6 whichl may be either of wood, hollow hard rubber or pressedout of sheet metal. The base ring is of substantially the contour lindicated and is split so that theend portions 7 fand: 8' thereof may be brought into overlapped re! lation as indicatedin Fig. 4 and may be secured in expanded position, as by an ap plied holdingplate 9 and screws 1.0. The outer face `of the; basearing G isprovided with a pair of sloping faces f 11 `forming a transversely beveled periphery, vanddivergent side faces 12. f .Theglatter-cooperate with the flanges V3 ,and to` retain the enlarged i of the basei ringJ by a number of inwardly design and inelastic retaining .rings 16 nearv each margin.

An endless 'annular core member of, softV rubber suitably` elastic, has a crescent-sec# tioned body 17 that is held in a substanf tially concentric relation with the faces 11 extending radiali-lugs or pillars 18. The side faces of the pillars-18 areipreferably rounded as indicated in Figs. 1 and 4 and are,-likewisewconformed to the faces 11 of thebase ringt.,` The dotted lines 19in`Fig. 1 indicate thecontourincross section ofthe corefmember 17 beforelits applicationIto the split annulus 6: and l'the expansion ofthelatter, together 1withthe compression afford- I ed'by the casing 14.

- YIn-assembling thejdevice the` split 'annulus isldisposed as indicatedfinFi'g.` 4 'and the core 17j applied. thereto, the ydiameter of the latter .being lnormally considerably less than that of the fully expandedmember 6. Then theucasingds placedover the two parts and the; annulusieX-panded as indicated in Fig. 4.

VT he whole is then slipped upon the rim. 2 and thetholdingilange 4 applied. As a result of the expansion of the base ring and the contraction o fi.thecasing-when clamped home, thecore takes the yposition and contourindicatedin Fig. 3.' It is to belnoted that the Vc rosssection'al dimension of the pillars 18 is such thatthere isa clear space indicated at 2O onieachaside ofthe pillarsand between Vthe latter and the sides of the casing. The parts are furthermore so proportioned that the sides of the annulus G are suliiciently wide to extend well beyond the outturned margins of y the flanges 3 rand 4, thereby affording wider bearing faces for theinner faces of the sides 21xof Ithet-irecasingthan is given by the rim flanges 3 and 4 to the outer faces ofthe casing sides.r f As'- a consequence,T under compression, theucasing always tends to spring away vor outwardlyofrom-the core and thereby prevent any erosion ofthe latter.

The stru'cturermay be modified as indicated in Fig. 2 wherein the -annulus is replaced by a hollow metal member 22l and 'theV guide` flanges ofthe rim -may take the form indicated'at 23.v IEhe casing is correspondinglyv formadas indicated at 2,4.-

As :a further-detail ofV constructiom the flanges-23 have wider contact with the casing thanthose indicated in Fig. `1 and enclose a plurality of hollowbosses 25'having margins 26 that 'interlock with the corresponding notched marginal portions 27 of the base 22.

g These bosses are secured as by holding screws 28 to the rim 129 of thev wheel.

In the modificationshown in Figs. 6 to 9 r inclusive, apreferredmodification of the core is shown. In such form, the annular body 34 ofythefcorefis carried byl spaced transverse l pillars connected ybyacentral annular rib `and a retaining plate V439 and screws 40, or

the like holding the parts together. This construction tends to avoid materialvr dis-y placement of lugs of the core belt in a circum-V ferential direction, since .the movement of the split ring vduring expansion is-not of the Y character `'shown inl Fig. A4, `which more `or less of'a `circumferential contact andV movement takes place, tendingv to shift lugs 18 out oftheirftrue positions. The base. ringmay likewise be moldedpf hard-rubber in oppositelyedisposed sections. 41 vsecured together by transverse bolts 42,v a .metallic liner 43'insur-ing a good lit on .the felloe.

As will be seen, .the ring and casing of each'y f form are proportiloned' to maintain both` stress and compression onthe core, the core beingdimensioned to provide clearance between the sides thereof and the marginal Vportions: ofthe casing,the'coreconstituting a'V minorxportion of the radial dimension thick#v ness of the assembled structure formed bythe casing, core,fcore` supportv and rim. f Y Y As a result of thisr construction, a cushion tire.. is obtained which entirely'obviates `any' tendency to side roll because'ofthe'peculiar bearing surfacev of the inner support, the tough outer casing giving the proper road wearing qualities and transmitting the torque;

to the wheel while'.theveryelastic inner core,

compressed as it is'to a certain extent intothe position :which isfound best to prevent erosion from rapid Vcompression andfrictionV with the casing, transmits the direct stresses in I.lines that'are substantially perpendicular to the `supporting surfaces, while all yside thrusts'arelikewise imparted along lines'normally. vertical to' this bearing surface, thus eliminating lateral' shearing effects. onithey pillars.

ilo i Furthermore,if the ring is of metal, it rapf` Y idly Vconducts away the heat which is generated by therapid compression toY which the.r

core is'subjected.. Itis to be understood that the various facesthatare in contact may be appropriately lined, if desired.

Furthermore by properdimensioning of the base ring: and filler, any desired initial compression may beimposed upon Vthe* filler speed within their-ange of thetire.

to' render-fthe tire. suitable sfor any.y load or Again, asindicated in thesmodiied form of n Fig- 5,'there may bea basefring 31 having sloping faces"32.which form a dished rsurface onwhich the comp'lementarily formed pillars 33 ofthe filler rest.` Y v Obviously, changes in the details of construction may be made without departing from the spiritl of my invention and I do not care to limit myself to any particular form or arrangement of'parts. a

l. In a cushion tire, an outer casing of a substantially inelastic fabric, segmental sections adapted when assembled to form a base ring to engage on a wheel rim, and to confine the marginal portions ofthe casing thereto, the outer face of the applied ring being wider than the inner periphery and being transversely beveled, and an annular elastic core consisting of .an outer continuous portion having an outer contour substantiallyconforming to the casing, anda plurality of radially disposed lugs on the .inner face of the outer portion resting on the hase ring, the lugs being interconnected annulai-ly and the outer sides ofthe lugs being spaced from the 'adjacent inner face of the casing.

2. The combination of a flanged rim with a base ring formed of segmental sections that are adapted to engage on the rim when assembled and are transversely beveled, a

casing of substantially inelastic fabric, the

marginal portions of which are confined between the flanges and the sides of the ring which latter are outwardly inclined and eX- tend for a considerable distance beyond the flanges andan annular elastic'core consist-- ing of ,an outer continuous portion having an outer contour conforming to the casing, and a plurality of radially disposed lugs on the inner face of the outer. portion resting on the base ring, .the lugs being interconnected by an annular rib likewise resting on the base ring, and the outer sides of the lugs and vrib being spaced from the adjacent inside face of the casing.

lThe' combination of a flanged rim, with a base ring adapted to engage on the rim and beveled transversely, the ring extending laterally and radially beyond portions of the rim flanges and normally cooperating with the rim as casing securing means, an

annularA core having an outer continuous portion and lugs inwardly extending therefrom that are connected by an annular rib,

the inner diameter of the core being normally less than the outer diameter of the ring to the face of which the core correspends in contour, whereby the core is under tension when mounted on the ring, and an cuter casing of inelastic fabric envelopingV the core and interlocking between the ring and flanges along the marginal portions thereof, the outer diameter of the core being normally greater than the inner diameter of the casing and the cross dimension of the lugs being less than that of the applied casing, whereby the core is under compression and'spacedalong its sides from the adjacent portions of the casing. s

4. In a cushion tire the combination of a riin with a ring of substantially incompressible material mounted on therim, an annular core of elastic material mounted on the ring, and a casing enveloping the Vcore with the marginal portions retained configuration such as to produce a face including adjacent annular portions inclined Y in opposite directions to a circumferentialplane of the Awheehthe combined width of the annular portions being not less than the width ofthe base of the formation, and a yieldable core member consisting of an outer portion having an outer contour substantially conforming to the casingandan inner portion resting on the core support, the sides of the inner portion being spaced from the adjacent 'inner faces of the casing, whereby the load or stress applied will produce member displacement in directions substantially transverse to the direction `of application. l

6. In a tire construction wherein` the casing is supported by a yieldable core mem-- ber and a substantially non-yielding core 'Y support formation with the latter having ment in directions substantially transverse Vto the direction of and in. the presenceof load or stress application on the tire, such yieldable core meinberhaving an outer con'- tour in cross-section lof theAA member adapted to conform to the opposing inner face, of. the ,casing when applied', and havingaJ cross-section width on planes parallel to the supporting face of the supportless than the distance between the 'opposing faces of the casing on such planes to provide spaces between the member and casing on opposite sides of the positioned member, said mem-v ber having a normal diameter such as to` produce a tension characteristic to the memv ber when the latter; is positioned on the support formation.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses. .l

- GEORGE WILLIAM BELL.

Vitnesses:

C. R. S'rroirNnY, y

ANNA'M. Donn. l ,i .i M 

